"The Cube" by London-based Emoshape has created an Artificially Intelligent (AI) 'emotionally aware' home console called Emospark that appears to 'read' human emotion in order to make the human operator feel better. Did anyone see that rather depressing movie 'Her' (check out the movie trailer on Youtube)?

The device can be best described as a 'Siri-in-a-box' meets 'Hal 9000' (without the paranoid delusion, we hope)! It uses face-recognition (via the camera) and language analysis to assess human emotion in order to respond verbally and deliver relevant content according to context and mood. Instead of carrying the little artificial person in your smartphone, the Emospark console is designed to be the centrepiece of your smart home. Over time the console will learn about the people in the house so it can do a better job at servicing its human masters' needs. It does this by creating an 'emotional profile' based on each user's likes and dislikes.

The gadget's ultimate aim is to use content to help humans be happy by suggesting things the user may like to read, watch or listen to. A secondary aim is to educate by connecting the user with relevant content in the same way as Siri, Google Now or Cortana.

The smart cube runs Android (hopefully not Paranoid Android), so it can be adapted for other uses via apps that can be downloaded from the Google Play store. The company is inviting developers to produce apps that can leverage the Emospark for entertainment or gaming purposes.

The company exceeded its campaign target back in March 2014 on Indiegogo, which means the Emospark went into production and will be available by Christmas! It will cost £195 ($315) so remember to order yours while stocks last.

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